Edwin Shearin Railroad Memorabilia Collection1931-1981

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff.

Call number

MC 00374

Amassed through a life of collecting, the Edwin Shearin Railroad Memorabilia Collection covers 50 years of railroading in America. With the help of friends and family, Edwin Shearin compilied the various pieces of railroad memorabilia held within this collection.

Biographical/historical note

Amassed through a life of collecting, the Edwin Shearin Railroad Memorabilia Collection covers 50 years of railroading in America. With the help of friends and family, Edwin Shearin compilied the various pieces of railroad memorabilia held within this collection.

The latter half of the twentieth century was a turbulent time for much of the United States railroads. With an increase in automobile and airplane traffic, America's railroad industry saw a marked decrease in rail traffic. Icons of the era like the California Zephyr and Twentieth Century Limited would complete their final runs. This era of railroading was captured in the song "City of New Orleans," penned by Steve Goodman and made famous by folk singer Arlo Guthrie in 1972. Rail traffic, which was at its height during the Second World War, declined sharply over the next 40 years. In 1959, the Interstate Commerce Commission approved the merger of Virginian Railway and Norfolk & Western. This merger ushered in the modern railroad mergers and consolidations. In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with New York Central to create Penn Central, which would declare for Chapter 7 bankruptcy two years later on June 21, 1970. This era was punctuated in 1971, when President Richard Nixon along with Congress created Amtrak, via the Rail Passenger Service Act.

Scope/content

This collection is divided into five series. The first series contains publicity pamphlets distributed by various railroad companies marketing their freight and passenger train lines. The second series contains small time tables given to passengers from various railroad companies for their passenger trains. The third series contains miscellaneous information about the United States' railroad industry, and the fourth series contains two volumes of national timetables for all train travel in the United States and Canada. The fifth series contains photographs, cards and postcards, and printed material depicting locomotives and railcars used by railroad companies around the country. The contents of series five may have originally been mounted in an album.

Physical description

3 boxes

Arrangement

This collection is divided into 5 series:

MC 374 Series 1. Passenger and Freight Train Pamphlets

MC 374 Series 2. Small Timetables

MC 374 Series 3. United States Railroad Industry Information

MC 374 Series 4. Large Timetables

MC 374 Series 5. Photographs, Postcards, and Printed Illustrations

Use of these materials

The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Containing pamphlets for passenger and freight trains, this series covers named trains throughout the United States. Included in this series is information on the Broadway Limited, California Zephyr, and a pamphlet distributed by General Motors for its diesel freight line. This series also includes information about Santa Fe's Chiefs and Super Chiefs.

28 folders

Alton Route undated

Box 1, Folder 1

Broadway Limited undated

Box 1, Folder 2

California Zephyr undated

Box 1, Folder 3

The Century undated

Box 1, Folder 4

The Challengers undated

Box 1, Folder 5

Cincinnati Limited undated

Box 1, Folder 6

City of Los Angeles undated

Box 1, Folder 7

City of Portland undated

Box 1, Folder 8

City of San Francisco undated

Box 1, Folder 9

The Crescent undated

Box 1, Folder 10

Denver Zephyr undated

Box 1, Folder 11

El Capitan undated

Box 1, Folder 12

Empire Builder undated

Box 1, Folder 13

GM Diesel Freight Power undated

Box 1, Folder 14

Liberty Limited undated

Box 1, Folder 15

Milwaukee Roads Super Dome Cars undated

Box 1, Folder 16

North Coast Limited undated

Box 1, Folder 17

Olympian Hiawatha undated

Box 1, Folder 18

The Pittsburgher undated

Box 1, Folder 19

Powhatan Arrow undated

Box 1, Folder 20

Powhatan Arrow and Pocahontas undated

Box 1, Folder 21

Rio Grande Main Line undated

Box 1, Folder 22

Rocky Mountain Rocket undated

Box 1, Folder 23

Santa Fe Super Chief and Chief undated

Box 1, Folder 24

Southern Belle undated

Box 1, Folder 25

Spirit of St. Louis undated

Box 1, Folder 26

Twin Zephyrs undated

Box 1, Folder 27

Wabash Blue Bird undated

Box 1, Folder 28

Small Timetables 1948 July 11-1981 Jan. 31

Size: 0.5 linear feet

This series contains small timetables for the various railroad companies. These passenger timetables provide information concerning the many stops on a rail line. This series contains information from Amtrak, Union Pacific, Rock Island and many smaller rail companies.

63 folders

Amtrak 1971 July 12

Box 1, Folder 29

Amtrak 1976 June 15

Box 1, Folder 30

Amtrak 1980 Oct. 26-1981 Jan. 31

Box 1, Folder 31

Atlantic Coast Railroad 1949 Dec. 16

Box 1, Folder 32

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 1954 Jan. 10

Box 1, Folder 33

Bangor and Aroostook Railroad 1953 Apr. 27

Box 1, Folder 34

Boston and Maine Railroad 1956 July 8

Box 1, Folder 35

Burlington Route 1952 May-1952 Sept.

Box 1, Folder 36

California Zephyr 1962 June 1

Box 1, Folder 37

Canadian Pacific 1949 Oct. 30

Box 1, Folder 38

Central of Georgia 1953 Apr. 26

Box 1, Folder 39

Central Vermont Railway 1955 Apr. 24

Box 1, Folder 40

Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad 1954 Sept. 26

Box 1, Folder 41

Chicago Eastern Illinois Railroad 1951 Aug. 26

Box 1, Folder 42

The Clinchfield Route 1951 Mar. 4

Box 1, Folder 43

Cotton Belt Route 1951 Feb. 1

Box 1, Folder 44

Erie Railroad 1953 June 14

Box 1, Folder 45

Florida Coast Railway 1952 Sept. 28

Box 1, Folder 46

Frisco 1953 Dec.

Box 1, Folder 47

Georgia Railroad 1952 May 15

Box 1, Folder 48

Grand Trunk Railway System 1952 Nov. 30

Box 1, Folder 49

Great Northern Railway 1966 Oct. 29

Box 1, Folder 50

Gulf Mobile Ohio 1950-1951

Box 1, Folder 51

Illinois Central 1966 Apr. 24

Box 1, Folder 52

Illinois Terminal Railroad Company 1950 Sept. 24

Box 1, Folder 53

Jersey Central Lines 1951 Apr. 29

Box 1, Folder 54

Kansas City Southern Lines 1951 July 1

Box 1, Folder 55

Lackawanna Railroad 1960 July 5

Box 1, Folder 56

Leigh Valley Railroad 1951 Sept. 30

Box 1, Folder 57

Long Island Railroad 1951 Sept. 9

Box 1, Folder 58

Louisville and Nashville Railroad 1951 Sept. 30

Box 1, Folder 59

Maine Central Railroad 1954 Oct. 31

Box 1, Folder 60

The Milwaukee Road 1954 Jan. 24

Box 2, Folder 1

Missouri-Kansas-Texas Katy Railroad 1950 Oct. 1

Box 2, Folder 2

Missouri Pacific Lines 1950 May 21

Box 2, Folder 3

Monon 1951 Apr. 29

Box 2, Folder 4

Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway 1951 July 1

Box 2, Folder 5

New Haven Railroad 1955 Apr. 24

Box 2, Folder 6

New York Central 1956 July 15

Box 2, Folder 7

Nickel Plate Railroad 1951 July 8

Box 2, Folder 8

Norfolk and Western Railway 1948 July 11

Box 2, Folder 9

Northern Pacific 1953

Box 2, Folder 10

Northwestern 1952 Jan. 15

Box 2, Folder 11

Pennsylvania Railroad 1956 Dec. 14

Box 2, Folder 12

Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines 1953 June 28

Box 2, Folder 13

Piedmont and Northern Railway Company 1949 Oct. 16

Box 2, Folder 14

Reading Railroad 1953 Apr. 26

Box 2, Folder 15

Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad 1955 Dec. 15

Box 2, Folder 16

Rio Grande 1955 Apr. 24

Box 2, Folder 17

Rock Island 1952 Oct.

Box 2, Folder 18

Rutland Railway 1953 Apr. 26

Box 2, Folder 19

Santa Fe 1954 Apr. 25

Box 2, Folder 20

Santa Fe 1966

Box 2, Folder 21

Seaboard Railroad 1956 Apr. 29

Box 2, Folder 22

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 1970 Dec. 11

Box 2, Folder 23

Soo Line 1962 June 29

Box 2, Folder 24

Southern Pacific 1951 July 8

Box 2, Folder 25

Southern Railway System 1956 Aug. 10

Box 2, Folder 26

Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway 1950 Sept. 17

Box 2, Folder 27

Texas and Pacific Railway 1951 Apr. 29

Box 2, Folder 28

Union Pacific 1966 Apr. 24

Box 2, Folder 29

Virginian Railway 1949 Aug. 14

Box 2, Folder 30

Wabash 1951 Apr. 29

Box 2, Folder 31

Western Maryland 1951 Jan. 8

Box 2, Folder 32

United States Railroad Industry Information

Size: 0.25 linear feet

This series contains periodicals about America's rail industry. It covers information about the history of the rail industry and named passenger cars. This series also contains two quizzes concerning America's Railroads.

6 folders

American Railroads: Their Growth and Development undated

Box 2, Folder 33

Named Passenger Cars undated

Box 2, Folder 34

Quiz on Railroads and Railroading [1 of 2] undated

Box 2, Folder 35

Quiz on Railroads and Railroading [2 of 2] undated

Box 2, Folder 36

The Railroad Story undated

Box 2, Folder 37

Railroads at Work undated

Box 2, Folder 38

Large Timetables 1931 Aug.-1950 Oct.

Size: 1 linear foot

This series contains two volumes that are timetables for rail travel throughout the United States and Canada. These volumes provide all the information from the smaller timetables, but from the many rail companies. Only covering one month each, these large timetables serve as the official standards for rail travel.

2 volumes

The Official Guide Standard Time of the Railways 1931 Aug.

Card box 3, Folder 1

The Official Guide Standard Time of the Railways 1950 Oct.

Card box 3, Folder 2

Photographs, Postcards, and Printed Illustrations 1949-1950, undated

The materials in series 5 may have been removed from a scrapbook or album. This series includes photographs, cards and postcards, and printed material depicting locomotives produced by General Motors, locomotives and railcars used by several railroad companies from around the country, and assorted railroad postcards and trading-card calendars.

Preferred Citation

Use of these materials

The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.